Inescapable You
by Miss BBD
Summary: Uh OH! Li and Sakura are trapped together by a pair of handcuffs! ;oP What kinds of challenges might they meet? Will they survive? Will Tori find out and kill them? My most popular story!
1. Chapter 1:The Accident

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I don't own these characters so pleeezzeee don't sue me! (Really, I'm broke. You'd get like, $0.25!)

O****O Inescapable You [Part 1] O****O

(This is totally separate from my other works…not related, k?)

"Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel."

~William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

It was a bright and windy Saturday afternoon. Sakura Avalon and her best friend, Madison, walked along the gritty sidewalk happily. The wind blew the hair and skirts of both girls and the sun made their smiles glow. 

"Did you bring it, Sakura?" 

"Yup. It's the strangest thing." Sakura reached inside the backpack she was carrying and pulled out an ancient looking carved wooden box. "I was cleaning the attic and I found this. The Clow symbol is on the box, so I'm trying to find out what it means."

"And you can't open it?"

"No, it's impossible, believe me."

Madison frowned thoughtfully, "Kero didn't know what it was?"

Sakura shrugged, "He said it looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. I don't think it's dangerous."

"So, you're going to ask Li if he knows anything about it?"

Sakura groaned and rolled her eyes, "I guess I don't have much choice."

****

Knock Knock

"Who is it?"

"Li? It's Sakura and Madison."

The apartment door creaked open to reveal a haggard and grumpy looking Li. He seemed happy that they were there for some reason.

"Li, are you--" Sakura started but was cut off by a high-pitched:

"LI!!!! Stop running away from me!"

Sakura giggled, "Oh, never mind…I understand!"

Meilin stepped out into view, holding a rope in her hands. 

"If you won't hold still, I'll tie you up! Hey, what is _she_ doing here?"

"Actually, Meilin, we're here to see if you guys can give us a hand with something."

They all sat around the coffee table upon which the small box sat. 

"What does it mean, Li?" 

He studied the mahogany box with his brows furrowed. 

"There are some symbols here along the front, very tiny. I think it's Chinese." Pushing the unruly brown hair out of his eyes, Li slowly read the inscription. The air tingled with tension and magic. Just as he finished, there was a slight pop and the lid of the box cracked open. 

There was silence in the room. Li looked up and made eye contact with Sakura who nodded solemnly. Her lip quivered for a moment, but there was determination in her bright green eyes. 

Slowly and carefully, Li opened the lid to reveal---

"Handcuffs?!?" Meilin exclaimed, "We, er, you guys, got all worked up about a pair of handcuffs?"

They were indeed handcuffs. They were made of solid gold and were covered with intricate carvings. 

"Wow," Sakura blinked, "they're beautiful."

"Now that's what I need to get Li to stand still!" laughed Meilin as she grabbed the cuffs out of the box. 

Li and Sakura realized what was going on at the same moment. As warnings reached the tips of their tongues, they could not stop her in time. Time itself seemed to slow down as Meilin slapped the cuff around Li's wrist. As the ancient clasp shut, an ominous clang sounded forth.

Everyone stood in silence, daring not to move. Li waited to have the very life sucked from his body or to explode…nothing happened. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Huh?" Meilin muttered as she tried to get the other loop around her own wrist, "It won't close."

Meilin ran over to Madison, dragging a stumbling Li behind. 

"Here. Let's see if it will close around your wrist, Madison."

It wouldn't. 

"Hmm...It's like trying to put two magnets of the same polarization together," pondered Madison.

"Let's try Sakura," Meilin suggested. 

Sakura's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "Um, guys. I don't think that's a good--"

****

CLANG

"--idea."

"This is all your fault!"

"How is this my fault?"

"She's _your _cousin."

"They're _your_ handcuffs."

Madison rolled her eyes. "Would you two stop it?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Madison, haven't you figured how to get these off yet?"

"I'm doing all I can, Sakura. There isn't exactly a lock for me to pick and this metal is, like, impervious."

"Kero, did you find anything in the book yet?"

Kero, who was on the phone at Sakura's house, mumbled something about 'just a second'.

"Wait. I got it!"

Sakura anxiously put the phone on speaker.

"Go ahead, Kero."

"Okay. The Spirit-Bonding Links."

"Spirit-Bonding Links? I don't like the sound of that."

"Be quiet, Meilin."

"As I was saying before I was _RUDELY_ interrupted, the Spirit-Bonding Links were created long ago in a village called Catharsis. The population was having a hard time getting along. Everyone was fighting and there was no love. There was also no marriage. Since there was no marriage, there were no **achem** children. Thus, the settlement was going to die away. They went to a local sorcerer for help. He created the links to bond the spirits of unrequited lovers. He said that the situation was getting in the way of true love. Thus, the links were put on couples that were meant to be. The links would not come off until they professed their love and sealed it with a kiss. Another thing, the links would not fasten on a couple that was ill-matched, only ones with the potential for true love. So, there you have it kiddies, they don't come off until you break the spell. **Snicker**. I think the situation is kinda funny, actually."

Both Li and Sakura looked a little green. Madison looked a little amused, and Meilin looked a little furious.

"You!" She pointed a trembling finger at Sakura. "You did this on purpose!"

"Shut up, Meilin," Li growled. "It's your own fault!"

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked numbly.

"Right Dad, a big sleepover at my…_friend _Meilin's house. Right. Okay. Love you. Bye."

Sakura slammed down the receiver and went back to pouting. 

"Look, Sakura we can get out of this, right." Li stood up and looked around, half dragging Sakura up with him.

"Ow! You've got to remember we're linked here!"

"Shhh. Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To get these off."

"Okay it's simple, right. We'll just do what the stuffed animal said to break the spell."

Sakura was giving him the Look…complete with quirked eyebrow.

"How hard can it be?"

Again, the Look…the other eyebrow quirks.

"*Sigh* Fine. You start, Li."

"Sure, no problem." Li made sure the bathroom door was locked.

****

Gulp. "Sakura, I l---…I lo---…"

"I'm waiting."

****

Sigh "Iloveyou. Fine, now it's your turn."

"Fine. I love you."

"Do you have to do the Look when you say that? Nevermind. Now, we have to um…do the next part."

"God. How do you want to do this?"

"Fast is good."

"Eyes closed?"

"Definitely."

"On 3?"

"One…two…"

"Wait."

"What?"

"We should get closer so we don't bump noses."

"Fine."

They now knelt in front of each other. Nose to nose. Breath mingling. Eyes avoiding eyes. Both fighting the strange, wonderfully painful feeling churning somewhere between their hearts and their stomachs. For a split second, green irises met amber and something flashed before turning away again. 

"Ready now?"

"As I'm gonna be."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!" 

With eyes squinted closed their clenched lips met for a split second. Both blushed furiously and averted their eyes to the cuffs…

Nothing happened.

"I knew the stuffed animal had to be wrong!"

"Wait, maybe it wasn't long enough?"

"Fine. One more time."

Li hurriedly closed his eyes and bent towards Sakura. Sakura, taken by surprise at Li's sudden movement, didn't have time to purse her lips like she had for the previous kiss. Instead, she accidentally presented Li with her full lips. This time when they kissed, electricity shot through both of them. Li's lips became soft and gentle against hers as time stood still. 

Deep inside her, Sakura silently plead with Li, words he wouldn't hear but was saying himself at the exact same time:

__

Don't kiss me like this unless you mean it like that.

The kiss broke slowly as the fullest part of their lips clung desperately to each other. For a moment, neither breathed. Then Li cleared his throat and tried to look nonchalant even though he was shaking. 

"Well…that should have been long enough."

"Yeah…heh heh…but it's still locked!"

"Hey! What are you two doing in there?"

"Nothing, Meilin!"

Up next: what are some of the things that might go wrong when you're stuck to another person? Can we say potty break? Oh, the humiliation. Be here next time as things start to get a little tricky. And yes, of course, there will be S+S sappiness, come on, ya'll know me! ;o) Please R&R, thanx! (Oh, and please read my other stories! Please, I live for feedback! [begs pathetically on knees]) Luv ya!


	2. Chapter 2: Problems Begin

*****************************************************************************************************************************************I don't own these characters, so pleez don't sue me. You know the drill. 

O*** Inescapable You (Part 2)***O

The first speed bump came soon. 

"Oh no."

"What now, Li?"

"I uh…haveoathoon."

"What? I didn't understand you."

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"Oh no."

****

"Sigh. Li, is the blindfold really necessary?"

"Just go where I'm leading you, Sakura." 

"I am so not even going to look."

"Okay we're there."

****

Knock **Snicker**

"You two okay in there?"

"SHUT UP!" in unison.

"Okay, I'm going to go now…just hum to yourself or something."

As Sakura hummed, she tried not to notice the jerking of her left hand as it was inadvertently dragged along. Her hand was pressed close to his sculpted abdominal muscles for a moment and she suppressed a shiver. 

"Okay. I'm done."

"Wait. I'd probably better go too."

"Yeah. Get all the embarrassment out of the way now."

Sakura tied the blindfold around Li's face. 

Li almost jumped out of his skin when his hand brushed her bare thigh for a moment…this was going to be an interesting experience being chained to Sakura.

"That has got to be the most embarrassing thing I have ever done."

"Tell me about it."

"Hey guys, we ordered pizza. Meilin is cutting it now."

"Li, you're getting sauce all over my hand."

"Sorry, I'm a righty. I have to eat this way."

Meilin rolled her eyes. "Will you guys quit fighting for like, two seconds?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

The next major problem came, of course, at bedtime. 

"*Sigh*. Sakura, you've been flossing for, like, twenty minutes now!"

"So."

****

Sigh

Madison looked around the room with a skeptical look. 

"So, how are the sleeping arrangements going to work?"

Silence.

More silence.

A stifled cough.

Cricket chirp.

Madison crossed her arms. "Well, we have to do something."

Silence.

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

The solution worked out was two sleeping bags on the floor, side by side in the living room, where there was space. Due to a lack of space and sleeping bags, Meilin would sleep in her bed and Madison would sleep in Li's bed. Though nobody was too happy with the arrangements.

Madison rolled her eyes, "Well then you should have said something earlier. It's too late now!"

It was well past midnight and Sakura lay awake on the living room floor, gazing at the ceiling. 

__

Hmm…I wonder if all those little speckles are on there in a pattern, or if it's totally random?

She sighed and once again tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. It was just no use. She was used to sleeping on her right side, and that was simply impossible. She glanced over at Li who was fast asleep on _his_ right side. No fair. But, she did get to use her right hand. 

__

Ugh! I feel so dirty sleeping on this floor. I can't wait to shower tomorr--Oh. Uh oh.

This whole thing was turning out to be incredibly frustrating.

Closing her heavy lids, Sakura tried to think peaceful thoughts and slowly drifted off to sleep on her back.

Somewhere in the peace of sleep, Sakura subconsciously rolled over to her right side and instinctively hugged close the nearest thing…a certain person's arm. And as they slept, faces inches apart with Li's arm hugged close to Sakura's chest, the moon set and morning drew near. With the dawn, what new problems would arise and how would they ever get out of this mess?

Find out next time. BWAHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh)!!! I'm not really evil, just busy. Plus, the suspense makes you like it more ;o) Thank you so much for your responses! I love to hear from you and tips are appreciated and listened to! Please R&R. I'll try to get the next part up as soon as I can! Really! Luv ya'll!

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	3. Chapter 3: Starting Fresh

*****************************************************************************************************************************************I don't own these characters, so pleez don't sue me. You know the drill. 

O*** Inescapable You (Part 3)***O

The sun slowly rises over a peaceful and beautiful morning. A red-breasted robin sits on a dew-laden branch, ready to cry the morning. Two beings lay in a state of peaceful slumber that nothing can disturb.

__

My feet are cold. 

The half-conscious thought ran through Sakura Avalon's head. For some reason, her warm comforter was not over her freezing tootsies. Her toes groped around for something warm as she hugged her stuffed animal closer to her chest. Finally, her icy toes touched something very warm indeed.

"AHHHHH!!!"

Suddenly, her "stuffed animal" was jerked away as she was pulled upright with a painful jerking to her wrist.

"Ow!"

Li blinked his bleary eyes in confusion, his reflexes having awoken him.

"Sakura?"

"Duh."

"Sorry. Your feet are cold."

Sakura looked down and blushed, realizing that she had been hugging Li's arm and sticking her feet up his pants leg.

Sakura yawned.

"I didn't sleep very well. How about you?"

Li rolled his eyes, "It's kinda hard to get comfy in a button-up shirt when you're sleeping.

Another problem they had encountered was getting dressed since they could not remove their shirts. Li was wearing a button up checked shirt and Sakura was wearing a tank top.

Sakura decided it was time to bring up a sticky subject.

"Li, I feel disgusting…I need a shower."

"Absolutely not."

"We don't know how long we're going to be in these things, I'm not going that long without bathing!"

"Geez, why me?"

"So, here's how it's going to work. You're going to take turns. Sakura first, then Li. Meilin and I will help you out as much as we can while still preserving your modesty."

Li looked like he was contemplating suicide. Sakura looked like she was going to battle. Meilin looked like she was going to have a coronary. 

Madison had taken over the planning and leadership position.

"I hope you didn't like this shirt that much, Sakura."

"Actually…*sigh*."

After Li was blindfolded, Madison used a pair of scissors to cut the thin straps of Sakura's tank top so she could shower. Li stood impatiently as his hand was dragged around in the scaldingly hot water that Sakura liked and his shirt sleeve became soaked. 

As Sakura shampooed her hair his hand was repeatedly brushed along her wet cheek and even briefly touched her lips. He suppressed a shiver and hoped that Madison and Meilin hadn't noticed. 

When the time came for Sakura to get out it was also time for Li to get in.

"I don't mind really, I just showered yesterday!"

Sakura, who stood dripping in a bathrobe interjected, "If I'm going to be hooked to you, you're not going to stink!"

She took the scissors from Madison and began cutting his shirt off. She was careful not to cut his skin and couldn't help noticing how smooth and tan the flesh on his shoulders was. 

__

What's come over you girl?

Smiling evilly, she pushed him backwards and topless into the stream of steaming water. He yelped and almost slipped. Madison dragged a protesting Meilin out to give Li as much privacy as possible.

When the water finally shut off, there was a moment of awkward silence.

"Um, Sakura…could you hand me a towel, please?"

"Sure…"

They then stood there in the steamy room, she in her bathrobe, he in his towel. They stood and stared at each other. Time seemed to slow and the steam swirled around the room. Li felt himself leaning forward unconsciously and noticed that Sakura was getting closer, with those big, pouty lips and--

****

Knock Knock

"Are you guys all done?"

"Yeah."

Next came the matter of getting dressed again. The only thing they could figure out to get Sakura in was a tube top and jeans. Li was a bit more of a problem.

"I can't very well walk around in just jeans!"

Meilin grinned like a cat, "Says who?"

Sakura smiled sappily, "You can borrow a tube top."

An evil glare was the response.

Madison snapped her fingers, "I have an idea!"

"Madison, I'm not that skinny!"

"Sure you are, just try not to stretch it too much."

Madison's idea was to get a shirt on Li by going through Sakura.

Sakura took the white "wife-beater" shirt in her hands.

"Here goes nothing!"

She stepped her legs into the body of the shirt and then struggled to work both feet through the armhole. She pulled it up as high as her hips when it had some trouble. 

"Ow, it's stuck!"

"Here, let me help." Li grabbed an end of the shirt and helped Sakura work it over her hips. She blushed and thanked him. She then pulled it up her stomach and chest and started to work her shoulders through. Here, again, she ran into trouble.

She looked quite the sight with her arms all twisted and trapped against her head so that her cheeks were squished.

"Help!"

With great effort, the shirt was finally pulled all the way over her head and Li managed to put it on. The shirt was, of course, stretched on one side so that it bagged, but, Li had a shirt on.

Sakura rubbed her friction-burned cheek and pouted.

"We'd better not have to take that off that way!"

Just then, the phone rang. Everyone grew silent and all eyes turned to the vibrating receiver. Meilin walked slowly over and picked up the phone.

"Hello…hold on."

She looked worried as she turned and looked directly at Sakura.

"It's for you."

As Sakura put down the receiver, she turned slowly and looked at everyone with a white face.

"It was my dad. I have to go home now."

All eyes turned to the hands before them, bound in chains of gold.

"Uh oh."

Hehe, I'm evil I know. Actually, I'm horribly busy. I'm writing this now when I should be in bed because the response has been so wonderful. I'm so glad you like it and I'm getting some really inspiring and some really weird responses. So keep it up and I'll do my darndest to have the next part out soon. Up next: what happens when it's time for Sakura to go home? How is she going to hide this from her family? Hmmm…? Hee, see you soon, same bat time, same bat station! R&R. Luv Ya!!!

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	4. Chapter 4: Challenges

*****************************************************************************************************************************************I don't own these characters, so pleez don't sue me. You know the drill. 

On a side note, I'm very glad ya'll like my work, but I'm beginning to become a bit frightened by the threats of death if I don't continue posthaste, so therefore I'm going to try and wrap this sucker up in 1 or 2 more parts! Not to worry, I'll write as quickly as I can and I will continue to write. Any story requests can be e-mailed to me and will be thoroughly considered. So, without further ado, on to part 4:

O*** Inescapable You (Part 4)***O

A young couple walked down the street. They seemed a bit strange to the outside viewer. A cute brunette in a tube top and a surly looking dark-haired boy in a wife-beater. They were holding hands with a jacket draped over the top of them. Some who saw them thought how sweet young love was, others wondered why they were being so modest about holding hands, and still others wondered what the _heck_ they were wearing.

"Li, what are we going to do?"

…

"Li?"

"I don't know, okay!"

Sakura pouted, slightly hurt.

Li glance sideways at her expression and sighed.

"Fine. First off, we have to get in the house without your brother or your dad noticing that I'm chained to you. Obviously, that would be cause of some question."

"Right. We need to get Tori out of the way. I think I can get past just dad, but my brother is really nosy."

* * *

"Alright, Kero. You fly around to the front and ring the doorbell. We'll sneak in the back and up the back staircase."

Kero gave Li the most malevolent look his cute yellow face could muster.

"I still don't like this, Sakura."

Li glared at Kero with equal animosity.

"Just move it stuffed animal!"

Inside the house, Tori looked up from the newspaper he was reading as his father made something that sizzled deliciously on the stove. 

"Was that the doorbell, Dad?"

"I don't know son, why don't you go and see?"

Tori glanced out the window in the front and didn't see anyone. He opened the door and looked down. There on the welcome mat lay that little stuffed animal of Sakura's that made him so suspicious. Tori picked it up with a curious look on his face. He could almost swear the little thing was sweating.

In the back yard, Sakura heard faint chimes from where she was crouched on the grass.

"Okay that's the signal, let's go."

The benefit of going up the back stairs was that only the first three steps were visible from the kitchen. The tried to run softly as they quickly went for the stairs. Once Li was past the wall that blocked the stairs, Sakura stopped him with a tug.

Making sure that Li wasn't visible to her father, she called.

"Hi, Dad!"

Sakura's father turned around in surprise. He saw his daughter standing on the stairs waving.

"Hello, Sweetheart. Did you have a good time?"

"Yup, sure did."

"Where's my hug?"

Sakura felt a wave of panic roll through her body when a convenient excuse fell to her lips.

"Later, Dad. I have to go to the bathroom."

Just then Tori walked in and tossed Kero to Sakura. She caught it with her right hand. Tori rolled his eyes.

"Very cute having the stuffed animal ring the doorbell. What did you do run around to the back of the house?"

Sakura laughed nervously, "Yup."

She glanced up the stairs to where Li stood with a look of near panic on his face.

As she started to run up the stairs, Tori called to her once more. She poked her head around the divider.

"Sakura, what the heck are you wearing?"

She glanced down at the tube top and blushed. Mumbling something about not having any clean clothes she pushed Li up the stairs ahead of her.

Sakura and Li managed to keep a low profile by staying in her room all day while Kero and Li battled by video game. Needless to say, Sakura was incredibly bored.

Suddenly, they heard a sound they had been dreading all day. The sound of feet coming quickly and heavily up the stairs. Wide eyes met wide eyes met wide beads. Kero immediately flew to the bed and took his normal position, abandoning the video game that was still going. Li glanced around the room and finally, dove under the bed at the last second. Sakura sat in front of the TV with one controller at her feet, one near her hands and one hand under the bed skirt. The door quickly opened and Tori stuck his upper half in. 

"Hey, Squirt. Time for supper."

He looked at the TV and back at his sister.

"Why is it on two player?"

Toying the controller with her toes Sakura shrugged shyly.

"I was trying to see if I could play with my hands and my feet at the same time."

"Hmmm…your feet are pretty good."

"Heheh. Thanks."

"Anyway, supper time."

"Be right down!"

"Yeah."

Tori glanced once more throughout the room, feeling like he was missing something, then he closed the door.

A collective sigh was let out.

Li's head poked out from under the bed, a layer of dust was in his sleek hair.

"Good save!"

"Thanks. Now comes the hard part."

"This will never work."

"Yes it will. Now, don't fall, I don't want to have to use the fly card."

Sakura was leaning her body as far out the window as she could. Her free arm was extended before her, holding her wand. Li was holding on to her waist with one arm wrapped around and his other arm was underneath her, gripping the arm it was attached to. 

Sakura concentrated for a moment.

"Ready?"

"As I'm gonna be."

"Windy!!"

A fierce wind blew down from Sakura's window and knocked over the Avalons' trashcans and blew them towards the house so they banged and rattled loud enough to wake the dead. Luckily, it was windy enough that night to cover the fluke.

"Now!" Sakura shouted.

In one smooth movement, Li pulled her quickly back in and ran, still half carrying her to the door of her room. They were halfway down the stairs before he realized he was still carrying her and put her down. 

She did a Mission Impossible style glance into the kitchen to verify that Tori and her dad had gone to pick up the trashcans. They quickly ran to the kitchen table as she heard the door slam to indicate they were coming back inside. Sakura now sat at her place at the large wooden table. Li, was crouched underneath by her feet. Both were silently praying.

All through dinner, Tori noticed his sister was a little pale and using very good table manners. He was so distracted by this, in fact, that he dropped his chopsticks right in the middle of dinner. As he reached to pick them up, Sakura quickly bent down and got them for him with a nervous giggle. Little did he know that his hand was inches from Li's sweating brow. 

To Li, dinner seemed to go on for an eternity. Growing weary, he rested his forehead on Sakura's knee. Above the table, she blushed. Sakura ate very slowly and urged her father and brother to excuse themselves even though she wasn't done yet. 

Finally, they went back upstairs. She was incredibly tired from hiding their secret all day. Li munched on Sakura's leftovers while she pondered what to wear to bed. She finally settled on a nightgown that had ties for straps. 

She, unfortunately, couldn't tie them by herself, so Li had to tie the thick straps as she held it up. The skin of his hands brushed the delicate skin of her shoulders and she shivered. 

"Cold?" he asked, his voice husky.

"I'm fine."

In the moonlight green eyes met amber and neither breathed.

"What's taking so long?"

The spell was broken and both blushed briefly and looked away.

"Nothing, Kero."

Sakura sighed happily as she climbed into her own bed. She let herself sink into the soft sheets and tried to ignore the fact that her left hand was hanging off the side of the bed.

Li was mumbling something about how his hand was going to fall asleep being elevated all night. (Author's Note: that hurts _so _bad! It happened to me once when I was sleeping on a submarine [long story] and my bracelet got caught on the top bunk [I was on the middle of 3 bunks, Ahh!] and it fell asleep! My hair also got caught, but that's another story. Okay, that was really off-track, but I just wanted to share that with you!~Miss BBD.)

Tori was heading upstairs to say goodnight to his brat of a little sister. Strange things had been happening all day, and she had been acting very weird. He walked quietly, not wanting to disturb her if she was already asleep. As he approached her door, he saw her bedside lamp switch off. 

__

Good, she's still awake so I can say goodnight to her.

Tori's hand reached for the knob and softly turned it. He walked into Sakura's room to find his sister, sitting up in bed.

"H-hi Tori."

"Hey squirt, just came to say goodnight." _Hmm…why does she seem nervous?_

Tori glanced quickly around the room. His eyes fell on her stupid stuffed animal lying on the floor, half under her bed. Tori slowly knelt down to pick it up, as he did, his face slowly came towards the floor and--

With one sudden movement, he tossed up the bed skirt and screamed. Sakura jerked involuntarily.

"Tori."

Tori laughed to himself at his joke on his sister. _Gets her every time._

"Sorry, Squirt. Had to scare away any monsters under your bed. I know you're such a frady-cat!"

She stuck her tongue out at him as he walked out.

He gave her one last grin.

"Goodnight!"

As the door closed, Sakura let out her breath.

"Phew, that was close!"

"You're telling me!" said her pillows.

Li pulled himself out from under the fifty million pillows and stuffed animals piled on the head of Sakura's bed.

"Can't you lock your door?"

"I guess. Just until morning, though."

They finally settled down to sleep and a peace settled over them with the security of the locked door.

"Goodnight, Li," Sakura mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

From the floor, he looked at her face intently for a moment.

"Goodnight…_Sakura_," he whispered, for she was already asleep.

Little did either young person know that as they slept and their personal bond grew closer, so did their physical bond. Silently in the dark, the golden chain shortened one link so that their hands were bound closer together as were their hearts.

Ohh. I'm so excited, up next: The GRANDE FINALE and ya'll know how much I love sappy endings! Tune in next time for the sugary (but not nauseating, I promise) conclusion!!! P.S. please continue to R&R, b/c I love feedback and it encourages me to write more quickly, I swear! Ya'll are lucky I have the flu, b/c that's why you got this part. Heehee. Luv ya!

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	5. Chapter 5: When All Things Come Together

*****************************************************************************************************************************************I don't own these characters, so pleez don't sue me. You know the drill. 

Okay ya'll, right off the bat I want to apologize for my extreme tardiness. It's not just ya'll, I can't make it to school on time to save my life. But it has been way too long. I had to, you know "work" at a "job", but now I'm back and ready to finish this sucker!!! So, without further ado…. ready?…The GRANDE FINALE!!!!!!

O*** Inescapable You (Part 5)***O

__

Li was running, sweating and scared. Chased, he was being chased. Fog--rain---fire. Li stopped running suddenly, looked at his hand and screamed. Tiny spiders with razor sharp legs were swarming all over his hand, biting and sticking. Would the sharp pain never stop? He had to get them off. Violently, he shook his hand and pulled and shook and--

"OOOOFFFF!!!"

"Oww!!"

Li's eyes shot open as a heavy and soft weight fell right on his solar plexus. The weight groaned and rolled off of him to land on the floor with a thump.

"Li! You pulled me off of the bed!"

Li let his head flop sideways so he could look at the accusing green eyes.

"I'm sorry, my hand was asleep and it was incorporating into my dream!"

They heard a snickering and glanced up to see Kero peeking off from the side of the bed. 

"Shut up!" they said in unison.

"Hmph. Fine. I'll just go sleep in a drawer then."

"Fine!"

Li sat up carefully. Sakura sat up and rested her head in her knees, gingerly cradling her forehead where it had bumped the floor.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Li asked, tilting her chin up so he could examine her head. He brushed his fingers over the tender spot on her skin. Sakura's eyes were wide and her breath became shallow. Li did not notice because his eyes were examining her for injury with fierce concern. Satisfied that there was no permanent damage, he brushed a lock of golden hair from her face. Breathing felt painful and something churned inside of him in an indescribable, wonderfully painful wave. Li reached to steady himself and knocked over a book, spilling something all over the floor. The Cards.

They picked them up and started to put them back, each looking down to hide their blushing. Then they reached for the same card and their hands touched. They were holding on to the same card. Li looked at it, the Change Card. He saw Sakura studying it too.

"People change, right?" Sakura asked, her voice small but steady.

"What?" Li was surprised at the question.

She looked up, this time she spoke louder and more intently. "I said, 'people change, right?'"

"I suppose they do."

"You've changed since you first came."

"I was in a new place, I thought you were my enemy. You were the competition. I suppose I could have been nicer."

"Look at us, Li. We've been working together and it hasn't killed either of us."

"Yet," he interjected with a smile.

She smiled back, "true enough."

"So, from now on, we're partners?"

"Partners."

Their hands met in a firm shake, and electricity sizzled through the connection.

"Sakura, look. The chain is shorter. There's only two links!"

"I wonder why it got smaller?"

"Maybe because we got closer," Li said, looking down with a blush.

"Li, I'm going to be honest with you right now. I _have_ been feeling very close to you over the last few days and, I've been trying to sort my feelings out. I'm not saying anything drastic that's going to scare you or anyth--"

She was cut off with soft fingers on her lips and intent amber orbs capturing her own eyes.

"Sakura."

"Yes?" she breathed, afraid to break the moment that was so fragile like filigreed crystal.

"I love you."

She gasped and the chain shortened another link until there was only one link separating their hands and their hearts. Their bodies moved closer and they could feel each other's aura intermingling with their own.

"And I…love you."

Their eyes closed and their bodies melted together as their lips met in a sweet and powerful kiss. Neither of them even noticed the handcuffs coming undone from around their wrists. The kiss ended and Li cupped Sakura's face in his hands and gave her a gentle peck on the nose and they giggled. 

Together, they stood, making sure that they were still touching by holding hands. After having been together, it hurt to lose contact, even for a moment. 

Li picked up the discarded handcuffs, and held them between them. 

"Hmm. What are we going to do with these now?" he wondered.

She laughed, "get rid of them!"

"Agreed," he said with a smile, wrapping his arms around her.

That's when they heard it. A strange and grotesquely horrifying sound that they identified too late as the squeaking of a door hinge. In the horrifying stillness of the moment, Sakura remembered that they had gone downstairs in the middle of the night for a drink of water and had forgotten to relock the door. Time froze as the door swung open and a figure stepped through.

Tori stopped and froze, Li and Sakura froze. Tori's eyes took in the scene. His sister. The brat. Romantic looking hug. Sister in nightgown. Brat in sister's room. A pair of handcuffs.

(Calm Before The Storm)

****

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Li, realizing that an, 'I can explain everything' wasn't going to cut it, did the wise thing and dove out the window, rolling down the roof ledge and making a hard landing in the soft grass. He quickly rolled to his feet and took off, not daring to look behind.

Tori made a dive at the window, but Sakura stepped in his way, giving him _the Look_.

"Tori."

He sputtered in frothing anger, "Spha--thebratwas---handcuffs--bhathe."

"Tori!"

He finally managed to focus on her.

"Tori, trust me. Nothing was going on. It's me, your sister, remember?"

"Sphaucyhsflskdjfoehhhhhhheekeshlk!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, sighed and Tori jumped out the window. There was a loud thunk and Sakura leaned out the window to see that her brother had knocked himself unconscious. An evil thought came to her head and she fought back a malevolent snicker.

Tori sat straight up. His sister and the brat…handcuffs! He blinked and then looked around. He was in bed? Sure enough, he was in bed, with the covers all pulled up and his pajamas on. He scratched his head and felt a slight bump. _Where did that come from?_ There was a knock on the door, and Sakura walked in, carrying a tray with French toast and orange juice on it.

"How are you feeling, Klutz?" she asked.

"Sakura? What, how, uh, who?" he stammered.

Sakura gave him a pitying look. "Oh, poor baby. You don't remember falling down the stairs in the middle of the night? You got a nasty bump on your head."

Tori touched the lump again. Something didn't add up right, but he couldn't place it.

"I brought you breakfast, but I have to go now. I'll come see you later, but you should stay in bed for now, okay?"

Tori grunted distractedly and then shook his head and tried to go back to sleep.

"I can't believe you got away with that, Sakura."

She laughed evilly and kissed his nose.

"Then you don't know me, my dear."

They walked along the lake in the park. The sun sparkled off the rippling water and the wind blew lightly.

"Ready?" Li asked.

"You bet."

Li reached back his arm and threw a pair of shining gold links as far as he could into the center of the lake. He then put his arm around Sakura's shoulders as they watched the instrument that had brought them together sink into the depths.

Sakura turned to look at Li with eyes shining bright with hope and new love. 

"Partners always?"

Li grinned an evil smile of his own, "As if I could escape you."

She hit him playfully and they ran happily around the park.

A casual observer might have noticed the happy couple playing in the park on a beautiful afternoon and noted that, curiously, when they neared each other, the sun seemed to glow a bit brighter and a glint of gold seemed to shine from their clasped hands.

THE END!!!!!! Horahhhh! I'm so thankful to those of you who were patient with my procrastination. I'll try not to let it happen again. I love you guys, so tell me what you thought! So kisses, hugs, and see ya soon!!!! Luv ya!!! ;o)

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